Go back in your mind to a time where there were no buildings called ‘church’. To a time when believers in Jesus were rightly told God no longer lived in the temple in Jerusalem, but He now lives in each believer, and that is where you will find His presence.

They were taught they didn’t have to scream and yell to get God’s attention; He lived inside them and they had peace with God and He with them. They were taught they didn’t have to go up to Him or bring Him down to them; He lived in them and was as close as their breath. (Romans 5: 1-5, 10: 6-10, Ephesians 2:4-7, Hebrews 12:22-24)

They were taught the various aspects of God’s personality are seen in each living temple, and the various things that make each person unique are actually the Spirit of God in manifestation, and they prove God’s presence in their lives as they walk through and work through life with Him. ( I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 12:5-7, Galatians 5:22)

These living temples of God met in homes with other living temples, hungry for, looking for, and finding His presence in their midst. As seen in scripture, a Christian was a disciple, an active learner, an active student of Jesus Christ who endeavored to immediately apply whatever they learned of Him.

Cultural Christian?

There was no such thing as a ‘cultural Christian’; you either believed and lived it, or you didn’t.

These living temples cared for one another like no other segment of Greek, Roman, or Jewish culture did. They met each other’s needs, worked through difficulties with one another, worked hard and were honest. No Christian was ever a beggar. If you saw a beggar on the street, you knew they weren’t a Christian because Christians cared for each other. They were known for their love.

Average People

Their leaders didn’t live in mansions, they lived like everyone else, met in homes like everyone else, and most worked regular jobs, though full time leaders relied on monetary and other gifts for their living. And in this the people knew they had a network of support for their physical, social, and spiritual needs.

When they met, God was in their midst. And not only then: They knew they took God’s presence within them to work, to play, to home, and to meetings with the rest of the living temples.

Presence

I shared how David’s heart in Psalm 51 cried out; “Don’t cast me from your presence! Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me! The 1st century believers were keenly aware they carried the Presence of God within them.

Today what we call Christian is often not consistent with what scripture calls Christian. The first thing Paul asked the 12 men in Ephesus when he met them was: “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” The Holy Spirit IS the presence of God within. The Presence was all important to them. (Acts 19)

Virtual Christians

Today we have cultural Christians: “Well, my mom went to this church, and my grandma, so I’m a Christian by default,” one might say. Or, “I was raised a Christian, I mean mom and dad were and I went to a Christian school and all, and I still believe I guess, but I don’t really go to church.” Or, “Every church I’ve been to has hurt me, so I just have church on the computer and TV and I’m fine.”

Maybe they even attended a Bible school or advanced Sunday school – maybe they live like the world, gathering Christian teachings as needed to massage their guilt, or it may be the Holy Spirit drawing them though they keep Him at arm’s length, or maybe they were ‘red hot’ for the Lord at one time, but are now about the same temperature as the fruit sitting on the kitchen counter.

As seen in the pages of the New Testament, none of the above would fit what Paul called Christian. They are what I’m calling, Virtual Christians. Pastors of traditional churches might include them in the group they call ‘floaters’; that population of believers that attends no where and yet every where. But a Virtual Christian could also be one who never sets foot in a church as they don’t care what flavor of the month is visiting no matter who or what it may be.

A Virtual Christian is a believer in Jesus who is opposite what scripture portrays as Christian. First century disciples were connected in a family and community network of believers both on a local and international level, seeking God’s presence in each other, and purposing to grow and change in Christ day by day.

Today’s Virtual Christian has no connection except by impersonal means, often thinks knowledge is the same as maturity, and has no outward indication they desire to grow as a person or as a person in Christ. They may even be happy being all alone in their faith – but that’s not faith as defined in the New Testament – and that’s my point.

What I’m suggesting is that Virtual Christians seek out the presence of God in various ways – a church’s special speaker, special music, seasonal theme, their computer, pet doctrines, even wanting His presence while wallowing in their fears and hurts – they search everywhere for His Presence but where New Testament Christians sought out God’s presence – with each other in small groups meeting in homes.

There is help for the heart and soul of a Virtual Christian and the people who love them…next week, blessings,
John Fenn

When David’s sin with Bathsheba was revealed, he repented and wrote Psalm 51 from an anguished heart. As with many Psalms, it is constructed like a teeter totter, with both ends balanced around the center piece.

That center piece is the cry of David’s heart in verse 11: “Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” This is the sum total of all he says in this Psalm, his core cry to God, the center piece around which all else revolves: I want your presence and Spirit more than anything!

More than his musical gifts, more than the kingdom he ruled, more than his family, David valued the presence of the Lord in his life, and that is why this Psalm of repentance revolves around his heart’s cry.

This is an Old Testament prayer – In our day we are born of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit doesn’t leave us when we sin – yet David’s heart cry is still valid for all who love His presence more than life itself! Don’t take your Spirit from me! Don’t cast me from your presence! I value Your presence in me more than anything else!

Make 2 Columns

If you list the qualities of what a Christian looked like in the first century in one column, and in another column list qualities of how we define a Christian, you will see many differences.

Among the qualities you’ll find in the early church is that individuals cherished the presence of the Lord as seen in: His presence in other believers they were in relationship and community with, His presence manifest in their giving to one another as God’s hands on earth to meet material needs, His presence seen in miracles performed by people they were in relationship with, His presence as others taught the Word, and as seen in the sharing about Christ the other living temples expressed during their home based meetings.

The early church realized the amazing truth that Christ lives in each believer rather than a building, making each believer a living temple of God. They loved His presence in each other, so they met in homes for God Himself established the home and family, and while maintaining their own homes they lived in a sense of community and family with people of faith. Their meetings were informal, in home, marked by the presence of God in worship, teaching and sharing, prayer, and the meetings of practical needs through fellow disciples.

The presence of God in their lives was first and foremost. They were dependent on His presence as manifest through other believers with whom they were in relationship.

Evidence You are a Christian

If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Would they use church attendance as evidence? Since people of all beliefs go to buildings called temples and churches, church attendance isn’t sufficient evidence you are a Christian any more than going to a health club makes you a professional athlete.

Would they dig into your financial records to look at your giving? Statistics show non-believers give as much as believers to charities and churches, so that wouldn’t qualify as evidence. Would they take your word that you believe in Jesus? Maybe, but is that Jesus the prophet like Muslims believe? Or is it Jesus the historical figure? A decent 1st year law school student could tear that apart in a second.

The pattern down through 2,000 years of history is that authorities use the testimonies of other people to prove people are Christians. Not their attendance, not their giving, not just their admission of faith, but they use the testimonies of people once in fellowship with the accused to seal the conviction.

The Virtual Christian

Traditional church teaches righteousness, and that is good. However, though righteousness comes through faith in Christ, it is proven only within relationships. That is why authorities through the ages have used the testimonies of those who know the person to convict, because a true disciple of Jesus will be in relationship and fellowship with other believers, even if some end up betraying them.

If you remove relationships with other disciples from a person’s life, you end up with a person who says they are a Christian, but there is no evidence. You have, the “Virtual Christian.” I’ve sampled some definitions on the word ‘virtual’ below:

From thefreedictionary.com and answers.com

1. Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name.
2. Existing in the mind, especially as a product of the imagination.
3. Computer science created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network.

From Bing.com

1. Being something in practice; being something in effect even if not in reality or not conforming to the generally accepted definition of the term.
2. Generated by computer; simulated by a computer for reasons of economic, convenience, or performance.
3. Hypothetical; describes a particle whose existence is suggested to explain observed phenomena, but is not proven or directly observable.

As I said; chapter and verse in one column, our Churchianity culture in another

When I was first born again, we knew who the genuine disciples of Jesus were because together we sought the presence of God – among our home based meetings, in our relationships with one another as we worked through difficulties, in our own lives – all ideas, thoughts, and habits bowed their knee to the Presence of the Lord, for we wouldn’t let anything come between Him in us, and us.

But today a person is labeled ‘born again’ after a mere raising and lowering of the hand during meetings when every eye is closed, or someone is called a Christian even though they may be leading promiscuous lives, dishonest in business, living a life indistinguishable from a non-believer, or simply floating out there as a spiritual island.

Psalm 51 holds some keys for the Virtual Christian, and that is for next week…blessings,
John Fenn

Last week I shared 7 elements the Lord spoke about concerning the body of Christ in this visitation.

It was an unusual visitation as I’ve only had 1 other where He gave me a bit of a history lesson. That was in 1992 when He said these things of the time when I was born again in 1974: “….of what you would call the ‘Charismatic Renewal’, a time when my people came out of the denominations because their needs were not being met. You met in home meetings, prayer groups, Bible studies, then soon (various) ministries started Bible schools to raise up leaders and many churches began as a result.” (You are a product of those churches)

“But now, many of those churches have become as rigid, inflexible, and set on their own agenda as the denominations that preceded them, and my people will come out of them in large numbers, and you will hear of home churches, prayer meetings, home Bible studies and such because those churches are not meeting my people’s needs…”

This Year

So this year He again went back to when I was first saved: “When you first came to know Me and the Father, there were no resources for you to run to when you worked through issues in your life. When you needed to work through issues with your dad (earth dad), you did so just between us. There were no conferences dealing with forgiveness, no Internet to access other people’s opinions, no books for your specific situation to read what others said on the subject – we worked through it together and I cherish those days.”

“Remember how big it was when your city got its first Christian bookstore? And then, when the second one opened on the west side how thrilled and amazed you were? Today, my people have all sorts of resources to learn from, opinions and teachings on nearly every subject their heart desires, and many are running to and fro looking for answers – to everywhere but Me and my Word.”

“These elements (see last week’s Thoughts) are nothing more than calling my people back to Me and the Father, to lay aside all the distractions and opinions and teachings that pull them this way and that, to return to Me. They know about Me, but they are spiritual babies even though they have filled their mind with much knowledge.”

“They don’t have the knowledge they should, and many know nothing as they should, for knowing Me should be their first priority. Those who should be spiritual adults by now, remain only infants in Me for they’ve filled their lives with the voices of others while choosing not to apply my Word to their thoughts and lives.”

“These are the people who will be most hurt in the days ahead; those who think they know Me, who think they know the Father, who think they know what faith is, yet they know more about us than truly knowing us. Their formulas will fail. Their false teachings will fail. However, some are already laying these aside as they answer the deep need in their spirit to know Me, and many are seeking. They shall find.”

“Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Lay aside all those things and cling to Me, spend time getting to know the Father, spend time in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Find your answers in Me and my Word, not in the multitude of distractions which serve only to fill your mind with possibilities and error, opinion and formulas. Let us work through life’s issues together, for then you will become strong in Me and walk with Me through life…”

My Own Time of Distraction

When He was speaking, though He was gracious enough not to mention it though He certainly knew I was remembering it, I recalled when I was seeking the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and was guilty of the very thing He was talking about.

I read the Word, but then I read many, many books on the subject – all left me still seeking. It wasn’t until our friends Janny and Vic gathered Barb and me and we went out into the country, found a patch of grass on someone’s lawn, sat in a circle and they prayed for us to receive. My head was so filled with the words of others, it was hard for me to hear the voice of the Spirit leading me into the Baptism with the Spirit. (That’s the problem so many have today)

Finally, Janny said “Johnny, (she remains the only person in the world who calls me Johnny) if you quiet your thoughts and rest, you’ll find suggestions of words and syllables and combinations floating up from your spirit across your thoughts…when you see or sense those, grab hold of those and speak them out in faith, because that is the Holy Spirit giving you pieces of that prayer language. The devil will tell you it is just you, but the Word says ‘the Spirit gave them the utterance’, so you have to speak it out in faith.”

I had been so distracted by what others said about the Lord on the subject, it took a while for me to lay aside those other voices to hear that still, small voice suggesting this and that combinations of letters…but I did, and that day changed me life.

Conclusion

The season we are in as a body is one where we are being called to voluntarily lay aside all those voices – not to get rid of a computer or tv or books – but to become discerning and disciplined from what and whom we receive – and learn how to work through life’s issues WITH the Lord and us alone.

Many Christians grew up trained that the mega-church had all the answers like a mega-store has all the products one could ever need in life. Others were trained to go to this conference or that teacher for answers. Some are voracious readers and many now are sight and sound trained to listen to all the voices available.

But the Lord is saying in the days ahead, those who don’t know Him and how to get answers directly from Him, will have a difficult time. They will find they know about Him, but don’t truly know Him. The time is now for us to lay aside these other voices and just become focused on knowing God.

He is Calling us to Know Him

Let our hearts echo that of the apostle Paul, who in spite of his great training, his great spiritual experiences, in spite of being friends with the original apostles who walked with Jesus for other three years, said his heart’s #1 goal was this:

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power out flowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness,even to His death…” Philippians 3:10 AMP

Amen! New subject next week, blessings,
John Fenn

If you have read the messages to the 7 churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, you’ll know the Lord says with each, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”, each accompanied before or after by a promise to “him who overcomes.”

Each of the 7 messages is different as each is sent to the body of Christ in a different city. Therefore each message is tailored exactly for the people in that city, yet on the other hand, the letter that became our book of The Revelation was copied and read by the whole body of Christ all over their world and certainly in ours.

Therefore each individual message is also for the body of Christ as a whole.

Family by Choice
As with all prophetic messages, they are received and acted upon voluntarily, by those who indeed do have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. To the rest, the message(s) are just blah blah blah in the wind.

When the Lord appeared to me He spoke of a very serious season now upon the body of Christ. To you who have heeded what the Spirit is saying already, you will recognize it. The Lord spoke of His body growing up, putting away childish things, becoming Christ-like, and all that is headed towards a unity in the body of true disciples unlike the world has seen since the book of Acts. That is the final outcome of the 7 points He outlined to me in February – unity in the body of Christ unlike the world has seen since Acts.

Seven Elements

These are the 7 things He spoke to me about:

1) Setting priorities in life geared towards maturity in Him. – When we reset our priorities in life, things once getting merely a glance, now become important, and those we once gave ourselves to, fall by the way side. When I was a child I played with children’s toys. When I became an adult I put them aside – no more thinking spiritual ‘weeds’ are something to chase.

That means no more throw away Christian relationships. No more cutting people out of our lives because we don’t agree with them, or they aren’t doing what we want them to do, or they changed churches. It means what Jesus said becomes #1 in our life, so we don’t hold onto grudges or hurts – we don’t have that luxury anymore.

2) Our brothers and sisters in the Lord are our family by choice. The brothers and sisters we fellowship with on a weekly basis, become our family. Especially in house church. When people become family (you can pick your friends but you have to love your family) they become more important in our lives. If we are doing nothing more than running errands and a brother or sister in the Lord needs help getting to a doctor’s appointment – family rearranges their errands to help the family member because they ARE family. We invest time with each other – getting together during lunch hours, over an evening meal – family by choice. What would your life look like if you made your closest Christian friends your family by choice?

3) The underground economy in the body, in which we care for one another in practical, every day ways. – Underground economy means exactly what it sounds like. Beneath all the traffic and people rushing this way and that, there is a group of believers who are helping their brothers and sisters in the Lord: I was…naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, in prison…and we clothed, fed, gave drink, visited them…invisible caring for one another no one sees but the people involved and the Lord.

4) Simplicity of faith; No more formulas, but instead truly know and walk with God, no distractions focusing on this or that ‘special’ teaching or latest and greatest thing hitting the Christian circuit. Simplicity of faith. Lay aside anything that complicates our faith. Don’t chase spiritual rainbows and butterflies. People by nature would rather have a miracle than do the hard work of making decisions to face their circumstances in the eye and admit they made mistakes and need help digging out of the hole they created. It is much easier to blame it on the devil or God or someone else – but simple faith says I just have to grow up in Christ as my #1 priority and I don’t care who is right or wrong; I must be like Jesus.

5) Purity; not using the grace of God as a license for sin, but as empowerment to live holy lives. Blessed are the pure, for they will see God. The Spirit is asking us to clean up our lives, but that can only be done if one really burns with the desire to see God – see Him in ourselves, our lives, our circumstances, to know Him.

6) Without fear; not reacting or acting out of fear of what will be, but moving forward through world events in simple and sincere faith, within a family and community of believers, doing good and growing in Him. He told me too many of His people are getting sidetracked by fear in the headlines of world events rather than learning how to receive the information without the spirit of fear attached. This was one of His most important points – to not do things out of fear; prudence yes, fear, no.

7) Focused; purposely setting aside distractions of faith and world attractions to focus our lives on Him and those disciples around us who are also on the same ‘spiritual page’. Our focus is to be like Him. That means anything that would tempt me to exalt self must fall by the way side. We are to walk in the light of what we have, and not be concerned with other people’s walks – that is their story before Him.

These 7 things He spoke to me about…you may hear in months ahead of some of these themes in conventions and conferences, in sermons and retreats – it is what the Spirit is saying to the churches…have an ear to hear and then apply yourself, and you will be one of those over comers.

More detail on each point next week…Blessings,

John Fenn

Later, when we met up again each of us reported how our moms were thrilled with our bouquets and put them in vases with water; some on a mantle, some on the dinner table – we were so proud of ourselves!

We would also pick dandelions by the long stem, and make a circle with the stem, looping it through to make a ring, and pick clover flowers just to suck on the sweet nectar, or even long stemmed grasses to suck on the sweet ends…my what treasures for a 6 year old!

When you grow up, that same lawn covered with dandelions and clover is seen for what it is – a bunch of weeds. But we didn’t know that then, we had to mature to see another perspective.

As We Grow…

We look for more permanent tokens of our love. Diamonds. Gold. Silver. Platinum. Sapphire and opal, turquoise and garnet. All can be expressions of love, something enduring through the seasons of life. As we mature clover and dandelions and grasses lose their appeal for we’ve grown beyond that season of life.

Spiritually Speaking Now

The body of Christ is entering a very serious season in the Lord, and I’d like to paint a broad brush picture of our history up to where we are now, and share some things on where the Lord is headed with us.

The Lord poured out His Spirit in a fresh way early in the 20th century, first in Topeka, Kansas, then the Azuza revival. Many people used that outpouring to go deeper in the Lord and grow up in Christ.

But through much of the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century, much of the body of Christ has been playing with spiritual weeds like a 6 year old plays with dandelion and clover flowers.

However even when surrounded by people content to play with weeds, there have been a few who matured into seeking the more lasting things of God. Their number is growing, and that’s what this word is about.

Children think weeds are the most beautiful and precious thing there is. They think a weed is the highest and best they can give their parents. They become a curiosity, something to twist and turn and put in the hair or around a finger – something to play with that is here today and discarded later today when the child sees a new patch of pretty weeds to explore.

So many Christians have played with the things of God like they were weeds, but some played with weeds knowing down inside they were actually searching for things more permanent in Christ.

Spiritual Weeds

When I was born again and Spirit filled in the 1970′s, personal prophecy was very big, though most were largely ignorant of God’s Word and ways; as a result many of those prophecies were a mix of emotion, opinion, and maybe a little of the Spirit of God thrown in.

I guess what goes around comes around, for in the last 15 years or so personal prophecy once again became a fad thing and once again most people were pretty unknowledgeable about God’s Word and ways, so many of those ‘words’ have had the same mix of self and emotion and ignorance.

In the late 70′s and 80′s the weeds Christians were playing with included prosperity and name it claim it. In the 90′s people were being blown over by TV ministers and pastors, and ‘apostles’ were going around preaching at a church 1 time then demanding that church or pastor tithe to him personally.

In the same time frame people ran from Toronto to Brownsville and later Lakeland. People put ‘Bishop’ and ‘Prophet’ on their business cards like a badge of honor rather than a grace to serve. Today’s weed patch is dominated by off balance grace teaching: People turning the grace of God into a license for sin rather than empowerment to live holy lives – like children who think their weed bouquet is so pretty, yet in reality they are just offering a bunch of weeds to the Lord with no awareness of growing up in Him.

Paul’s Weed Patch

In I Corinthians 3 Paul said this: “I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – as mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you weren’t ready and neither are you now ready for solid food. You are still worldly…For no one can lay any other foundation other than that which is already laid down, which is Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones – or wood, hay and straw – their work will be revealed for what it is…” (1-16)

The Father wants those children who have been playing with weeds – wood, hay, straw – to put them aside and grow up. The days coming upon this world will reveal many Christians thought they knew what maturity and faith was, but to their horror they will discover they are mere children and what they thought they knew, is wrong.

Divine Unrest

What is happening in the body is an unrest from within individuals. Christians by the millions are waking up and realizing they’ve been playing with spiritual weeds their whole lives. They’ve bounced from this ‘outpouring’ to that ‘gift’ only to discover one is a spiritual dandelion and another the flower of a thistle.

They now question church structure, leadership, why the same pattern in church happens again and again. That unrest is Christ rising within – “My little children I travail in birth pains again for you, until Christ be formed in you”. (Gal 4:19)

There is a huge population of the body of Christ that doesn’t understand the divine dissatisfaction going on within them. The fact is, we look for solutions within the guidelines we know, but what is going on in people must be found outside the box called ‘church’; found in the Word separated from that which is called ‘church’. They seek the Word in purity. They seek spiritual food that ‘sticks to the ribs’ rather than spiritual food that fills them for the moment but leaves them all the more hungry for real nourishment an hour later.

Ears to Hear

Many churches that were once considered to be ‘cutting edge’ have become as irrelevant and distracted as the denominations that preceded them. God is doing something among His people – not people in buildings called ‘church’, but the true church, His people.

When I was a child my clover and dandelions were the most beautiful flowers I could give. But then I grew up and saw they were weeds, so I put away childish things. That is where the body is. But there is more.

The next weeks I’ll share what the Lord has told me He is doing in the body, so stay tuned…

Blessings,
John Fenn

Last week I said that Christians who got offended by other Christians were idolaters. Now to explain.

“Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord…” I Samuel 15:23

“Stubbornness is as idolatry.” Basically, if I am holding onto something like offense, and not dealing with it scripturally (being stubborn), I have placed that offense between me and Jesus – it has become an idol – something I protect, give allegiance and attention to, and refuse to get rid of though I know the Word says I should. That’s why the Word calls stubbornness idolatry.

When Barb and I were dating during our high school years, we went to a Saturday night prayer meeting that started at 7pm/19:00 held in a farm house out in the country, about a 25 minute drive from Barb’s house. Our routine was that I’d drive to her house by 6:15, we’d leave within 10 minutes, and arrive at the prayer meeting at 10 or 5 minutes to 7. I said routine – but it never seemed to go according to my schedule

She would be late which upset me, or I’d be angry at something else but was still stirred up by the time I got to her house. Or maybe she and her mom had argued and I got the brunt of that frustration. Either way, we would be angry with each other as we drove to the meeting.

He Loved His Camaro

We also went to another meeting on Sunday nights. That meeting rotated between homes and consisted of teenagers from various school districts, usually led by everyone’s mutual friend, Dave. An experience Dave shared one Sunday night resonated with me.

Dave owned a Chevy Camaro, which was a very nice car for a teenage boy to own in 1975. In our day, not every teen had his own car, so if you had one you were a star attraction. Dave really, really, liked his car. Think Danny Zucko in Grease. Think Richie and Potsie and Ralph Malph from TV’s Happy Days.

He was sitting at a stop light one day and the Lord spoke to him: “You are committing idolatry.” Without thinking he replied; “I am not Lord! I don’t have any idols, I don’t have any shrines in my house like the Catholics!” The Lord said: “You’ve put this car between Me and you, therefore you are committing idolatry. It is an idol to you. You love it more than you love Me.”

Dave’s lesson that night was from the scripture I shared in the opening – that stubbornness is idolatry. He was stubborn about his love for the car. God could deal with him in any area and immediately he would change the priorities of heart to adjust to what the Lord wanted – except for that car. He was resisting the Lord’s efforts to keep that car in perspective. He had to do some ‘heart surgery’ that day and remove the car from the pedestal that was blocking his view of the Lord.

I’m Right; No, I’m Right

So Barb and I were sitting out in the barn lot before one of the Saturday night prayer meetings, arguing as each of us tried to prove our point, trying to get the other to back down, apologize, or agree. Suddenly Dave’s experience came welling up inside me: “You (two) are committing idolatry by your stubbornness. It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong, all that matters is that there is peace between you.” (By you sticking to your position you are placing it higher than My efforts to get you to forgive and move on, therefore you love being right more than you love doing right.)

Back to King Saul

You might ask, ‘Why does that passage say ‘rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (and stubbornness is as idolatry).’? How is rebellion as witchcraft and why are they related?

Witchcraft is (stubborn) manipulation. Lucifer stubbornly twisted truth and manipulated the other angels. So when a person stands their ground demanding they be judged right in a matter, they are stubbornly manipulating the situation to their own motives rather than simply forgiving and moving on. That’s why Paul asked: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (3:1)

The Galatians were being manipulated by believers who said they had to obey the laws and festivals of Israel, when the Word doesn’t say that.

Learn this: People in idolatry and witchcraft (manipulation) always complicate whatever matter is before them. God’s way is very simple – drop the offense, forgive and move on. But people in witchcraft and rebellion must complicate and muddy the issue in order to prove themselves right in their eyes as the offended party needing an apology.

God’s Word Says…

So now let us go back to Mr. Average Christian. He has been offended by something. That’s on one side of a paper, a left hand column. On the other side of the paper, a right hand column, is what God says:

‘As you stand praying, forgive…live a life worthy of the call you’ve received, be humble and patient, bearing one another in love…make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace…you were taught to put off your old self…and put on your new self, which is created in the image of God in true righteousness and holiness…be kind and compassionate to one another even as Christ forgave your sins…follow God’s example and walk in the way of love…’ (Mk 11:25, parts of Ephesians 4 & 5)

So on one hand you have God saying grow up, forgive and move on, take the high ground, lay down your offense and hurt and sense of injustice and become Christ-like by forgiving.

On the other column Mr. Average Christian wants to stay in offense. He is an idolater. He is as one doing witchcraft by manipulating himself and others in his justification. The revealed Word is clear, yet he digs in his heels in his offense.

So Why Do Christians Get Offended?

It is because they would rather be offended than grow up in Christ. We have the idea that ‘laying down your life for another’ as Christ laid down His life for us means being inconvenienced by a friend asking us to drive 10 minutes out of our way to pick them up for church. Or maybe volunteering for a church program though it is hard work.

The truth is that laying down our lives for others mean taking the high ground when you could lash out, choosing NOT to be offended, when offended or hurt, covering that offense in love and letting it fall off you like water off a duck’s back. THAT is laying down your life for another.

Growing in Christ comes through doing what Jesus said to do when all your emotions, all your pride, all your sense of right and wrong cry out to be heard, cry out to be justified in the eyes of man. Growing in Christ happens by making difficult but right decisions in times when it would be so easy to retreat into hurt and rejection, so mad at the world you want to kick anyone that gets in your way. You lay down your life for the higher purpose of making peace, and move on.

Growing in Christ doesn’t happen by hearing the Word, but by doing the Word. All resistance to doing what you know God says is stubborn idolatry and manipulation and witchcraft.

Growing in Christ means learning how to make a hurt, an offense, an injustice, a lie against you, a mere moment in time instead of a lifetime.

Next week – how do you do that?

Blessings
John Fenn

To get to the answer we have to get into the Word, and then state what people actually do rather than obey the Word, and then we can get down to the core reason Christians are so easily offended and are so willing to cast off relationships in Christ in offense. I think you’ll be surprised at the answer.

We’ve all seen it or been the victim, or maybe even the perpetrator – a Christian known in person, print, TV or cd, believes something or says something that offends a person, and suddenly they are tossed aside with a curled lip like they sniffed a carton of milk that was two weeks past its due date.

Why are Christians so quick to cut people out of their lives? Why do pastors say ‘If you leave our church you (take your choice)…have a demon, open yourself to demons because you have no covering, aren’t in the will of God, some disaster will befall you’ – and therefore people are forbidden to talk to or socialize with them, or even acknowledge them in public?

Why is it alot of non-Christians act more Christian than Christians? I’ve often been amazed how people in their work relationships continue to work around difficult people, putting up with all sorts of jerks for money’s sake day after day. Yet let a brother or sister believe differently than they; an instant severing of any ties!

How much higher in priority and importance are relationships in Christ – based on the blood of Jesus. Yet how lowly we value them…do we have that luxury? The days ahead will reveal the relationships we have in Christ will be the most important things we possess.

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Let’s go back in time to the first century, where we left off last week: A time where some Christians insisted they eat only veggies, some said it is OK to drink wine while others said no, some said Saturday is the day to worship while others said Sunday, some said they should honor the Jewish festivals while others had no interest, and still others ate meat that had been sacrificed to idols, while others wouldn’t think of doing such a thing!

Let’s take Mr. Average Christian of the day and make him of ‘weaker faith’, to quote Paul; How would he react to the meat eater, wine drinker, idol meat eater, and not a Jewish Sabbath or festival observer?

If he lived in our day, he’d feel righteous indignation against his brethren who don’t see God through the same colored glasses as he, and feel right before God in cutting all ties with that person because there is plenty of teaching on the web of others who believe like him. He’d walk away smug in his mind that he had deeper revelation, was more mature, and justified in feeling that person sorely disappointed them. In short, he would cut them off with good reason. Would the Lord agree though?

Conditions for Cutting Ties with Other Christians

“I urge you brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way, that are contrary to the sound teaching you have learned, who serve their own appetites and not the Lord. Keep away from them.” Romans 16:17

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and dishonest, or idolaters. You would have to leave this world to do that. I’m writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is in fact sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or dishonest.” I Cor 5: 9-11

Elsewhere Paul speaks of those who draw people away after themselves and the need to confront them thus protecting the flock, gossipers and deceivers who go from house to house (church and house) spreading rumors and division and sowing strife, who need to be confronted and stopped (Acts 20:29, I Timothy 4:7, Titus 1:10-11)

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus, and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and word studies that results in envy, strife, malicious talk, suspicions, and constant friction between people whose minds have been corrupted, and some even robbed of the truth to the point they think that godliness is a means to financial wealth. From such withdraw yourself.” I Timothy 6:3-5

Can You See a Pattern?

There is no place in the Word that says to break off relationships with people because they eat meat and you don’t, or they drink wine and you don’t, or they worship on Sunday and you on Saturday, or you observe the Jewish festivals and you don’t. In those cases, as covered last week, Paul said make allowances and walk in love with each other.

In our day Paul might include there is no reason to break off relationships with others because they go to ‘that church’ or they….hurt me, wounded my pride, didn’t let me talk, I wasn’t appointed committee head, were on the side that voted the new sanctuary carpet would be blue instead of green, doesn’t accept Bishop ____ , doesn’t believe mass prayer in a stadium is going to change the nation, etc.

The Next Layer Down

The next layer down, the layer just atop the core reason – is idolatry. You read correctly. Those who get offended so easily and are quick to separate themselves from others because they get offended, are idolaters. An idol is anything worshipped or held in higher esteem than God. Another way to think of it is something held dear that is placed between you and God.

Think of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time – They esteemed their law and what they thought God wanted more than the actual written Word. They were idolaters. They pulled scriptures out of context, built a series of conclusions based on that incorrect understanding, and valued that higher in their minds than what the OT actually said. They were angry at Jesus for placing the scriptures in original context and intent – fighting to justify their beliefs.

That placing of their pride and their pet doctrines above the balance of the whole Word, was idolatry. It came between them and God. They got to the point they could not function in a group of people who were outside their pet doctrines, thus became islands while surrounded by people – they had no idea how to function in a group setting and in the larger culture around them; separated from society and potential friends.

And now we get to the real core: Their faith was not in God, but in their carefully constructed pet doctrines and ideas of who God was and what they thought He wanted. Anything outside that offended them.

There are Christians who know the Lord, barely, but they’ve never gone beyond getting saved, choosing rather to build a framework of beliefs of who God is and what He wants, thinking knowledge equals maturity (wrong), so amass knowledge in areas of specialty in order to protect themselves from getting hurt by the changes they know God would require for them to be Christ-like.

Their construct of God is safe, familiar, comfortable, and they will rail against anyone who attempts to challenge their carefully built walls of what they believe. Thinking themselves mature, they are actually what Paul said in I Corinthians 3:3 of those who took offense because someone liked Paul’s teaching and others liked Apollos better, and each group was offended at the other – he said they were infants in Christ as they were acting like mere (non-born again) humans as they were in strife.

So…this lays a ground work why Christians use petty, no-real-reason reasons to separate from fellowship. For some, it is easier to be an idolater and not truly know and grow in Christ, than it is to lay aside the baby stage of hiding behind knowledge and truly mature both as people and as people in Christ and a larger community of like-minded believers.

And that’s where we pick it up next week – and how to change a lifestyle of offense to maturity.

Blessings,
John Fenn

So today I share about alcoholic drinks in the same way – going to higher principles rather than debate this or that point about the merits of drinking alcohol.

Higher Law – Love

In Romans 14:1 Paul sets the subject by saying; “Him that is weak in the faith receive, but not to the point of quarreling over matters of dispute.” 

Paul is about to discuss how to handle Christians who believe different things about what they should eat or not eat, drink or not drink, and on what day of the week to worship. I quote from Word Meanings of the New Testament by Earle: “…Paul has in mind the type of person who makes a major issue out of minor matters…observing meticulously man made rules and regulations.” 

The phrase ‘quarreling over matters of dispute’ is also translated ‘receive…but not for disputes over opinions’, and ‘receive…but not with the idea of arguing’.

What is there to Argue About?

“For one believes that he may eat all things, another, whose faith is weak, only eats vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt those who eat only vegetables. And the vegetarian must not judge those who eat everything, for God has received him.” (v3)

“Who are you to judge another Man’s (Jesus) servant (the person in question)? To his own Master he stands or falls; and yes, he shall be held up for God is able to make him stand.” (v4) 

Which Day to Worship?

Paul continues: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each should be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regards one day as sacred does so unto the Lord, and he that thinks every day is alike does so unto the Lord. Whoever eats all things does so unto the Lord for he gives God thanks. And he that abstains from meat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat it, and gives God thanks.” (v6)

Paul dealt with similar questions in I Corinthians 8:4-6. The issue was eating meat that had earlier been used as a sacrifice to an idol in the pagan temple, which was then sold to local meat markets and restaurants. Some Christians wouldn’t eat the meat, others had no problem eating it. 

To them he said; “We know that an idol is nothing in this world, and there is no other God but one…however, not every man has this knowledge.” (I Cor 8:4-6)

To the Romans he said something very similar: “I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean in itself: But to those who consider something unclean, to them it is unclean.” (14:14)

Drinks Anyone?

These issues are why Paul included drinking in Romans 14:21 – “It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor to do anything that causes your brother to stumble, or is offended or made weak.”

“Take heed lest by any means this power (of choice) which is yours, become a stumbling block to those who are weak in the faith.” (I Cor 8:9) 

I like what Paul told the Romans in 14:13: “Let us not pass judgement on one another any more (in these issues); but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle in the way of a brother.”

That Is the Issue

Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:1 was to receive a person who is weaker in the faith, but not to the point of argument. Instead, those with higher knowledge are to refrain from their freedom if one of weaker faith is joining them in a meal and it would damage that person’s conscience to see them down a medium rare filet mignon while they had a salad. In other words; walk in love and eat a salad too.

Practical Living

I ministered at a particular church years ago, and the pastor and his wife, Italian Americans, invited me for a delicious Sunday spaghetti dinner in the best of Italian traditions. An elder of the church and his wife joined us as well, and as we were seated the pastor poured a red wine for each person as normally as one might pour a glass of water. I drank the wine, though I don’t drink alcoholic beverages. 

I was in Russia in 1991, leading a team of Americans starting a church with some Russian friends, in Yekaterinburg in the Ural mountains about 1200 miles (2000km) east of Moscow. Our hostess and her friends went to great expense to provide mountains of traditional Russian food, including white wine which was poured in each glass, which we all drank, though none of us (Americans) drank alcoholic beverages.

Love was required in each situation. The issue isn’t drinking or not drinking, eating meat or not eating meat, worshipping one day or another – the issue is love. Don’t be one of those people Paul was aiming at, the ones who major on the minor issues and want to argue their pet doctrine to the point of causing distress in the local body. 

“So then, everyone of us shall give account of himself to God…but if your brother is grieved with your menu, then you aren’t walking in love. Don’t destroy him with your food, for whom Christ died. Don’t let your good (freedom) be spoken of as evil…It is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor anything that causes your brother to stumble, or is offended or made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.” (parts of Romans 14:12-22)

Next week: Have you noticed that Christians take offense faster than any other group of people? What causes that? Stay tuned… 

Blessings,
John Fenn